Water • Science • Policy • People
Water problems are solved in networks, not silos.
Biologist and water strategist. Twenty years learning across research, industry and EU policy, in five countries.
Ana de Almeida, PhD
Collaborative Strategic Improvement • Water • Regional Networks
GERMANY • ITALY
ICRA, Spain
People Learn in Networks
Complex water problems are rarely solved by one organisation alone. Utilities, manufacturers, regulators and researchers each hold part of the picture, and progress comes when they learn from each other while working on real problems.
This is the idea behind network action learning, explored by Paul Coughlan and David Coghlan at Trinity College Dublin in Collaborative Strategic Improvement through Network Action Learning (Edward Elgar, 2011). As a Senior Research Fellow at Trinity, I worked on it in practice, through action learning, collaborative prototyping and demonstration.
It is the lens I bring to EU water policy. The Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, PFAS and antimicrobial resistance are network problems as much as technical ones.
Focus Areas
Collaborative Improvement
- Network action learning across organisations
- Regional networks of utilities, industry and research
- Translating science into decisions people can act on
EU Water Regulation
- The recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and Extended Producer Responsibility
- Drinking water quality and monitoring obligations
- How regulation translates into cost, investment and timing
Emerging Contaminants
- PFAS and micropollutants in water
- Antimicrobial resistance and policy
- Environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals
A Network, Not a Ladder
“So instead of crashing, I pivoted back and forth to seek meaning and connection.”
Selected Research & Publications
Learning to Innovate through Action Learning
With Paul Coughlan, Katrin Dreyer-Gibney and Aonghus McNabola. Action learning, collaborative prototyping and demonstration.
Antimicrobial Resistance & Policy
Antimicrobial resistance in water and what it means for policy.
Water Disinfection Strategies
Approaches to water disinfection and pathogen control.
Bacteriophages as Vehicles
Bacteriophages as vehicles for the spread of antibiotic resistance genes.
